Angel of the Devil
by elegantruin
Summary: Raven finds he is unwanted at TNA thanks to Zbysko and tries to find a means of getting Justice. He finds out about an unlikely admirer, and a plot to over throw Zbysko by a just as unlikely group of individuals.  Slash Raven/JeffHardy with Raven/AJ hints
1. Black

Angel of the Devil

Chapter 1: Black

I failed again. The realization only hits me once my arms are forced behind my back and violently jerked up to cease my struggling. Security then begins to lead me through the corridors backstage, past the other talent on the roster waiting for their cues. I catch the eyes of so many, but not one thinks to help me.

Security continues to try and restrain me as I am led with further haste to the back exit, my kicking and screaming seems to be getting on the men's nerves; I don't blame them. It is after all the third week in a row they've had to usher me out of the building.

I can hear the sigh of relief from the men restraining me as the red exit sign looms over the steel door before us. I am rather relieved myself, the pain in my arms and shoulders diminishing the more the guards loosen their grip. I begin to struggle more, hoping my sudden burst of strength would be enough to release me and slip through the confused idiots at my side, only to head out for Zbysko again. My plan is quickly thwarted by one of the quicker men to the left of whom I'd calculated be easiest to pass. Their reflex's being far greater than mine or the others to my right as they captured my arms in a solid detainment before I ever had the chance to move them all the way out.

"No fucking way are you getting away from us this time Raven!" The guy yells into my ear, and suddenly I can feel my arms going numb with how much pain he is inflicting upon me. I yell as loud as I can, hoping the scream will deafen him enough to repell him from restraining me. He pulls his head back, but no luck of letting go. My effort for even getting help was in vain, nobody cares enough to help me out. The door is close now, only a few more seconds before I need a new strategy…

Too late. We've reached the door. As it opens there is revealed the dimly lit parking lot. A shiver runs down my spine forming goose bumps on my skin. There appears to be rain on the ground and I can't help but think of how much I'd appreciate being pushed straight outside. My luck however, turns on me for what seems like the millionth time tonight, or for that matter, as everything since the incident in Canada.

My body makes it half way out the door, I lean forward, my right foot about to step out when it is caught by one of the fools that had escorted me so generously to this location. I easily could have turned it into a stumble but just a moment before, all seven security guards found it necessary to lay their hands upon me, and push with as much strength and power their bodies possessed. My body falls to the ground with great speed, gravity not wanting too much to be my friend. I'll get them back someday… laughter being the last thing I hear, pain being an instant of the last thing I feel, the small drops of water splashing up in slow motion before my eyes as my head cracks against the gravel.

Now all I see is black.


	2. Reintroduction to the Past

Angel of the Devil

Chapter 2: Reintroduction to the Past

"Scott… Scott! Scotty wake up!" A familiar southern drawl drifts to Raven's ears, his eyes fluttering open as a putrid odor sneaks into his nostrils. With a jolt he shoots up, ignoring the sudden blood rush and grogginess in his head. His eyes slowly adjust to the bright lights of the room, never getting to see the concerned expression of the man next to him. His subconscious slowly kicks up, and while his hazel eyes begin to un-blur he focuses all his attention upon the figure of Zbysko that he believes stands in front to him. Instantly his arms lash out, digits locked in curves like claws, his throat releasing sounds and tongue tapping letters, "ZBYSKO!" in a far more pronounced and loud volume than he may have intended.

"Chill man," the sweet southern accent met his ears again, greeting him as though they were lovers, "He left not even 5 minutes ago… Are you o-"

"He's gone?" Raven bellowed loudly, finally turning to look at the soft features belonging to the North Carolinian boy next to him. His features still contained a golden sincerity to them, truly concerned in every aspect, even his beautiful deep green eyes. Jeff's lips began to part again, promising an answer, but Raven's arms shot out faster than the young man's tongue could move, clutching his shirt forcefully and pulling him by the collar till their faces almost met.

Despite the sudden outburst, and cold hard features of the man holding him, not to mention the wild enraged eyes, Jeff's expression was still moderately worried. Raven found himself rather put off by his unchanging demeanor, finding it hard to be mad at someone who doesn't even look surprised when you grab them viciously.

Raven managed himself well however, not changing his focus on the subject at hand, "How long have I been out for? Where did that bastard go! Why the fuck didn't anyone help me! And PLEASE tell me, what… the fuck… is going ON!"

The screaming did nothing to dampen Jeff's expression or his temperament; it was as though he didn't care what Raven did to him as long as he was ok.

"Whoa, whoa. Scotty calm down. Jeff isn't a rag doll, shaking him won't get your answers any faster."

Raven recognized that southern accent very well. Slowly he began to calm down, between the familiar voice's command, and the soft caring features he tried with much failure, to be rid of on Jeff's face. His hand released Jeff's shirt, feeling the fabric slip cleanly away from his fingertips, and from that point turned his attention strictly to A.J. who stood next to another familiar individual; Rhino. A.J.'s face was alight with amusement, a small vile flipping in front of his face that his hand continuously threw up to the heavens and caught blind but masterfully on its descent to earth.

A few seconds of silence passed, feeling to the men like a decade as Raven took to inspecting his surroundings. He discovered to his own surprise that they were in the male locker rooms. Or rather, A.J.'s locker room to be precise.

"Is this…" Raven began, but was cut off by A.J.

"My locker room."

"I saw you getting dragged off…" Jeff responded softly, he sat on a bench just next to Raven and was watching him intently. His accent seemed to ride a bit thicker off his tongue with his own tentativeness as he continued, " So I came to A.J. and Rhino and asked if they would help me smuggle you back into the building."

"Unfortunately," chimed Rhino, "When A.J. got to diverting securities attention, and we got to the back, you were unconscious on the ground and sopping wet." A small smile spread across his lips. "Which explains your lack of clothing."

Raven had hardly noticed anything was missing until he finally looked down, spotting a dark blue blanket pooling around his legs; the only clothing behind his black boxer shorts, which also happened to be soaked.

"Where are my clothes?" Raven inquired, looking about on the floor for any traces of his shirt and torn shorts.

"Cassidy took them off to dry." Rhino suddenly caught his breath, and A.J.'s amused look became instantly stern gazing upon him. Rhino looked at him apologetically, remembering he wasn't supposed to say a word about that.

"Cassidy…" Raven's voice rose sinister and low, filling the room with its bitterness. "I was… unaware he was here tonight."

"Did I mention you almost killed Jeff when he went outside to look for you?"

"Don't change the subject Terry!" Raven shouted, spite drowning in his voice making Rhino and A.J. flinch with its intensity. Jeff still sat there remorseful.

"He tripped over you and-" Rhino continued, determined to change the subject.

"TERRY!" Raven screeched, flaring his arm out in dramatic fury.

"Cassidy was afraid to help you and end up failing, causing the both of you to get suspended." Once again, that soft calming accent dared to make itself known from Jeff's supple and shy lips, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room.

His words only seemed to make Raven more insane, now breaking into fits of mock laughter. "Suspended? I'm practically suspended already! Three weeks. THREE! I'm close to the point of _killing_ someone." He emphasized his point clearly, clenching his fists in blind rage, bringing them threateningly close to his own hair as though to rip it out.

"Well I can assure you that you won't need to do that," replied A.J.," because during the 6 minutes you were knocked out, we came up with a pl-" The sudden appearance of a technician broke Georgia native's sentence. The man himself, too busy pestering Rhino to notice Raven sitting half naked on a bench nearby.

"Rhino, you need to head to the ring now."

Sabu's music blared throughout the building then, Rhino nodding aggressively "Alright" to the man who used it as a cue to exit.

"I'm heading out now, you two take care of Raven, and Jeff… I'll be seeing you in the ring real soon." Rhino nodded once more to the group prior to his words, and left with an unseen wink to A.J.

"Alright, so I think we've answered all your questions up to this point," A.J. announced, knowing full well that some information was going unsaid.

Raven was calm now, less frantic since the techie's arrival, and now busying himself with bringing the blanket up onto his shoulders to wrap himself up in. "All except for what the fuck is going on around here."

A.J. sighed heavily. "We don't know that one. I sure as hell wish I did, especially since Team 3-D's supposed demise. I would really like to get them together for the plan Jeff, Rhino, and I had."

"There really isn't anything I'm afraid of…" Jeff retorted, "but this plan we were thinking of could very well be a career killer for you A.J. I mean… Raven and I have both already been fired from WWE, you haven't had to worry abo-"

"Jeff Hardy, you need to run your ass to the ring before you miss your segment!" The technician had returned, cutting off Jeff mid sentence and ushering him resolutely out of the locker room. Just as resilient to get a last word in, Jeff called over his shoulder "Talk later! Watch Rave' till segment over!"

A.J. waved Jeff away, chuckling to himself. "Not a problem," he called after him, shaking his head afterwards. The door slowly squeaked closed as the shadows of the two figures diminished from the window space. Silence then fell upon the two individuals, the only sounds greeting their ears being that of their own breathing, and the slight shuffling of A.J.'s shoes against the ground as he leant against the wall. He needed to make some small effort to make himself comfortable.

"So what was all that talk about some kind of plan?" Raven's inquiry brought A.J. out of his thoughts, and to the present. His expression slid to slightly shocked, unaware that the question had been burning a hole in the other's tongue.

"Just an uprising of some kind," he responded rather casually and with no real interest.

"You? Planning a revolt?" Raven just about laughed aloud at the thought. "Jeff was right, you should be worried."

A.J. opened his mouth in defense, but was cut off.

"Don't even… just… just don't. You don't know what the hell you'd be getting into. You should listen to your North Carolinian lover, and just stay the hell out of it."

"He's not my lover," A.J. answered matter-of-factly.

Raven's hazel hues met A.J.'s pretty blue ones, staring them straight and stern, his voice brought forth practically as a primal growl, "You expect me to believe that?"

A.J.'s eyes narrowed with the insinuation. His body pushed from the wall, his usual soft southern accent keen with anger, and much louder now because of it. "Why not believe me Levy? Is it because of OUR past? Is it too much for you to believe that there may be some other men around here with more MORALS than you? Do you think that I'm some kind of cheap whore, or slutty fag who's always shady and looking for a good piece of ass to take home every night!" A.J.'s face flushed red with the adrenaline, his anger taking him to such highs he'd never thought he'd ever encounter again with this man, his hands were fisted and shaking, the color draining from his knuckles. The veins in his neck and arms became more pronounced, and his voice fell more husky while he tried to subdue himself.

"If that's the way you see me…" he announced, stepping back to the door as his watch cued his moment to head to the ring with Shark boy, "… and I mean it, if that is the TRUE way you see me… then Fuck You. Fuck YOU Scott. I won't lower myself to your half assed nature or bring Zbysko justice that we all know he deserves in the name of _your_ problems."

He turned his back then, the door opening with precise response, whipping past his arm as he opened it. Without a look back A.J. broke out into a power walk into the hall, almost colliding with Jeff and Rhino on their way back from the ring. Jeff he noticed was carrying Raven's freshly dried clothes that he'd picked up from Cassidy on the way there.

"Hey are you-" Rhino started up, reaching out to touch A.J.'s shoulder, but he was interrupted and shouldered past with a snappy "NO!". Jeff and Rhino stared at the retreating backside, their heads slowly turning to look at one another with a suspicious curiosity.

When A.J. was fully out of site, Rhino was left wondering how that mood would affect his in ring capabilities for his match, but the thought seemed to dwindle as Jeff reached for the handle to the locker room only to have it suddenly swing open dangerously out of his reach. There revealed in the doorway stood Raven in his underwear, a single minded purpose guiding him to move out into the hall, not paying any attention to where he was going, causing his and Jeff's chests to collide full impact. Raven, having the bigger mass was left with a slight footing change, where as Jeff simply fell backwards, out of Rhino's arm reach, and onto the floor. The action sent clothes scattered about him, leaving the young Hardy rather goofy in appearance as he got up on his elbows and peered at Raven from beneath his shirt.

It was in the instant Jeff's eyes rose to meet Raven's, that he truly identified how small Raven thought of him, how ominous and powerful he looked standing there, framed like a god by the locker room lights behind him, and the frame of the door itself, even in his underwear. "S-sorry Scotty-"

"Are those my clothes?" Raven pointed to the shirt on Jeff's head, and the ripped jeans on his chest.

Jeff nodded earnestly, and immediately they were in Raven's hands. He watched in awe as Raven dressed faster than he thought was humanly possible (after being helped to his feet by Rhino), putting on the pants with such ease and grace, and the shoes on next to that. The shirt he barely even saw him stick his arms through or put over his head. Without another word to either man, not even a word of thanks, Raven tore his way down the hall to the exit he had been thrown out of earlier in the night. The door protested the amount of force by which it was opened, and slammed behind him upon its close.

Jeff and Rhino were then left to ponder what transpired between A.J. and "The Raven" Scott Levy after they departed, and if this would be a re-introduction to a very bad past.


	3. Blinded By Hate

Angel of the Devil

Chapter 3: Blinded By Hate

It's been two days since the taping and I'm sitting here on my comfortable couch, half asleep watching some crap on the television set with a towel around my waist. I cannot comprehend sound, sight, or touch. If I were asked the time I would not know it. Know… to know… what is it to know?

Hate.

Bitter and increasing hate for one man I once would have given everything for.

A.J., you say to me you and the Hardy boy are not lovers, but after that night how can I believe you?

Pfft.

Cassidy. There's another low life, back-stabbing, useless piece of puppet garbage. Where the hell was he when I- My thoughts are thrown for a loop as I hear a knock at the door, a light tap at first, but becoming ever more bold as the knocking progresses. Perhaps it's my own state of mind. Daydreaming has a way to pull people from comprehension, as does deep thought.

Reluctantly, and with great difficulty I manage to hoist myself from my couch after the sound has continued long enough for me to determine that there may very well be someone at my door.

Slowly I make my way to it, yawning with great effort so as to not drop dead into sleep right here. I wouldn't want to risk my health or sanity by hitting my head on a coffee table.

I reach for the handle, careless and disinterested greatly on how I'm dressed. If it's some church group, perhaps it'll scare them off.

The knocking won't stop, and now it's pressing my last nerve as I stand here. I'm at the door but all the locks remain, and finally I can stand it no longer.

"STOP FUCKING KNOCKING!" Jesus Christ. Don't people have any decency?

I dally with the locks a bit, trying to focus my sleepy eyes to make sure the one time I go to open the door I won't have to try again if a lock snags. I hear the knocking again, tentative little knocks that feel like their tapping on my skull rather than the wood of my door, and finally I lose it completely. Moving out of the way, I thrust the door open, blinded by my own anger, and there, before me is the boy who I deem shall suffer… now… and forevermore.


	4. Little Puppet

Angel of the Devil

Chapter 4: Little Puppet

WARNING: This chapter contains violence and some sexual situations. For those with little tolerance for rape, you might want to skip this chapter and wait for the next one.

Disclaimer: I know I've been delayed on this, but I own none of the wrestlers found in this story, each individual belongs to themselves as well as the company who pays them for appearances. Sue me, and you'll get nothing. Steal this and I'll sue.

"R-Ra-Raven I- I…" An animalistic growl passed Raven's lips, his arm shooting out instantly and clasping the jacket arm on Cassidy's coat, jerking him inside the house. A horrified expression settled itself onto Chris's youthful face, pain lingering there and met with even more as his back was met violently by the solid of a wall.

"Aahck!" Chris's throat tightens as he cries out in agony, his breath catching up the wind pipe making him choke and suffocate from his own surprise. Raven wordlessly reaches out for his hair, capturing the threads at their base and jerking Cassidy's head into the wall, all the while bringing his own face closer to his.

"You… how _dare_ you show your face here and not when I needed you! What the fuck do you think I _protect_ you for! What the fuck do you think I PAY you for! I give you a reason to be on TNA, I'm the reason you even have a job and THIS is how you REPAY me!"

"R-Raven I- I'm… I"

"SILENCE!" Raven's grip increases on Cassidy's hair, the sickening sound of the strands detaching from his skull filling the young man's ears, giving Raven a further sense of sadistic delight. His cries of distress only fueling the other to twist more and more till blood is present, attaching to the unnatural blonde strands and spreading like a virus.

Somehow Cassidy finds it within himself, through all his screaming and protests of abuse, to muster up a silent plea.

"Raven please!"

"Don't give me that shit!" Raven spat, jerking the blonde's head around like a rag doll causing more of the hair to stretch and strip from the scalp. The sound was starting to make Chris nauseous and swear any minute now that he'd throw up. Just his luck however, Raven faltered with his grip, taking his hand away and shaking it subtly, his sadistic train of thought driven to a height of creepy within his own pleasure of each falling hair.

Cassidy found the moment a God send, huddling up in a ball against the floor and wall, mustering up further courage to beg for mercy, his body shaking profusely by fear.

"Pease boss… tell me how I can redeem myself… I'm sorry Boss. Please. Please forgive me!"

The southern accent brought him back to reality, Raven's eyes falling onto the fetal driven young man at his feet. The sound of his voice was only grating his nerves and so once again with one hand his arm lunged out to the top of the other's head, firmly clinching the sore patch he'd previously made, and sharply twisting his wrist outward. Putting more strength than one might find is necessary, he snapped Chris's head up, pulling his body with it, and once more returning the back of his head to waist length at the wall, blood smearing from the back of Cassidy's skull in wake of his movements.

"Redeem yourself?" Raven's inquiry broke out into a sick and twisted smile, rage burning with his wide wild eyes and coursing evidently through his being, making his face flush a savage red. He permitted a twisted chuckle to escape his lips, one so devilish it made Cassidy twitch and squirm anxiously.

Suddenly the other hand, which had been inactive through most of this was brought to the simple towel around his waist, the slightest touch causing it to fall with an elegant sway to the floor, Raven continuing his verbal barrage. "You want to redeem yourself? HAH! I'll let you redeem yourself… come here you little bitch, and redeem yourself. Show your Boss you're actually worth a damn, you puppet piece of shit!"

Without any warning a psychotic laugh erupted from the bellows of Raven's throat, his hands working on their own to shove Cassidy's face to his crotch. He didn't even have to look… shoving his half erect manhood passed Chris's pursed lips, forcing his mouth open and skull fucking him with only a couple thrusts to bash his head dominantly against the wall. The feel of something sliding down the other's throat, unwontedly, made him gag, and did nothing to help his sickness. Several times the thought of suffocating crossed his mind.

Slowly his expression became one of most pronounced horror, pain drenching the rest of his body from his head, Raven's hands guiding him swift and rough back and forth along his shaft, face fucking him mercilessly every chance he got, into the wall. Every time the disturbing thud that was his head crashed into the wall, it sent Raven's now full erection further down his throat, the head of it gagging him every time, only Scott's words were there to give him comfort which only succeeded in making him that much more humiliated.

"How's this for redeeming yourself you pathetic useless bitch? Huh? Suck harder work monkey! Harder!" Raven repeated the phrase religiously, smacking the boy's head with every mention of "harder" only to slam him more commanding back into the wall from a harsh thrust.

A few more thrusts and finally Chris could feel the member twitch in his mouth, swelling with the oncoming orgasm. He found himself vulnerable, unable to prepare himself for what was to come, so he simply shut his eyes. The seed filled his mouth with a sudden rush, some of it sliding down his throat unwillingly, but most of it slopping out the corners of his mouth, and all down his front once Raven removed himself from its hot confines. The warm sensation that came over Scott lingered as he reached out for the boy's chin, taking it firmly and jerking it up as far as it would go. He gave himself, nor Chris the time to regain composure, the action furthermore startling the young blonde as the last bit of semen poured out of his mouth and all over Raven's own hand.

Raven growled, gritting his teeth and looked Chris up and down. "You're disgusting," he mocked, releasing his chin and wiping his hand off on Cassidy's jeans. "But I'll tell you what," he continued, wiping the backside of his hand in the young man's hair, a slightly amused tone creeping into his voice, "I'll give you one more shot. You do still want to redeem yourself…?" He took hold of another part of hair, this time a bit lighter, but straining it one more time to pull his head as far back as possible. Cassidy's body arched simultaneously to deplete as much pain as he could, and trying his absolute best in the position he was in, he gave a solemn and terrified nod.

"I won't be showing up for the taping this week, so in my place will be you. I want YOU to inform everyone- and I don't care how or when you do it- that even though I am not there that night, I _will_ be at Bound For Glory."

Finally his grip on the boy's head loosened completely, and with the smallest bit of effort grabbed his shoulder to help Chris to his feet. He served as a guide for only a couple steps as they neared the door, then shoved him the rest of the way finding that it was slightly open already. Easily the boy fell through and collapsed on the ground outside, his body convulsing and continuously wracked with shivers, his torment still not ceasing to cause him agony. In a sinister low voice, Raven announced above him like a god from the open door, "Now get the fuck out of my sight."

Cassidy quickly scampered to his feet, scampering to the car he had left running on the street side. Raven watched his form retreat, calculating thoughts of the Bound For Glory weekend and the PPV to come. With a grunt he slammed the door, the wheels of the car outside breaking into the silent house with a wild urgency, once more Raven's thoughts are thrown and he changes his mind, pondering just how much longer he will be able to use Cassidy as his little puppet.


	5. Promise

Promise

Following the incident with Raven, Cassidy stayed silent when it came time for the next TNA taping, arriving early hoping no one would bother to ask him any questions or notice his obvious discomfort. Parts of his body remained sore, including his scalp and cheeks. It had taken only a couple washes to discover just how much more hair he had lost thanks to Raven's thick powerful fingers pulling on it.

"-Ok, then that will set me up to attack Jeff and Hey! Cassidy!"

Cassidy instinctively cringes as he hears his name shouted aloud from one of the groups he passes, slowly looking in the direction of the voice, discovering Rhino waving at him standing among A.J. Styles and Jeff Hardy.

The solemn man answers with a weak "Hey" as he finds his feet beginning to move on their own towards the three men. The smiling faces in this instance turn to worry, Rhino the first to voice any concern.

"Hey man, you don't look too good." Says Rhino, placing a heavy hand on Cassidy's shoulder when he finally makes it to them. "How did the whole thing with Scott go?"

A grunt comes automatically from A.J., turning his head and attention immediately away from the conversation showing his apparent distaste for the man of interest. The atmosphere suddenly intensifying with his anger at Raven for the events at the last taping, having told no one precisely what went down.

Cassidy looked to Rhino and Jeff tentatively, trying hard to think of the right words to explain what had happened, but entirely unsure if he should do so. The repercussions of such actions could be far worse that what had happened only a few days ago, nevertheless his tongue stuttered out," Not….good. He… I…-" His mind replayed the troublesome scene over and over in his head, stunting his ability to talk any further. His eyes with dark circles under them began to look frantic, staring at the floor in a psychotic way, following an invisible mouse jumping around the men's legs in irratic paths. Rhino's face hardened, the action on set by the sight of his jaw clenching and looking more square than usual. "Did he do something to you?" He asked, " What did he do? You can tell us Cassidy, tell us what happened."

The mouse of a man was silent, bringing his gaze back up to the men around him and meeting only Rhino's eyes. A.J.'s gaze remained away from the group, Jeff's own now downcast with disinterest, his foot scuffing lighting at the ground.

Cassidy broke down then, squatting to the floor and holding his face in one hand and his head in the other, eyes frantically running random paths yet again around the 3 men's feet as he tried once more to convey the events of the night he was brutalized.

"He… he made me… he forced me to-"

Rhino waited expectedly, Jeff's eyes finally rising only a little to look at the wreck of a man before him, and A.J. leering over his shoulder just barely at the fallen figure, waiting for him to finish.

"Forced you to…?" Rhino prompted.

"To…" Cassidy's voice shook, his mouth becoming dry at the recollection. With one flashing image of the manhood being forced into his mouth, he blurted, "suck him off!" Suddenly the barrier cracked, and in a slew of rushed words he continued, "He beat on me, ripped the hair out of my head screaming and screaming! I choked, and he laughed and he- he-"

"That's enough!" Came A.J.'s southern drawl, cold and final. He looked up to Rhino with a hard gaze, but received no recognition as the man was now staring as though miles away at Cassidy. After another moment or so, he turned away from the group, his feet picking up and carrying him away in a determined and angry walk, his aura radiating with suppressed anger. Cassidy called to him carelessly, "PLEASE! Don't tell anyone! I beg of you! I can redeem myself! HE SAID I COULD MAKE IT BETTER!"

Several passers-by stopped, startled at the sudden out burst. Rhino did too, his voice and tone the most level and emotionless any of them had ever heard it, "I'm not going to tell anyone. I'm going to Zbysko's office. I have business to discuss…" And with that he kept going.

Cassidy murmured quietly to himself, the other two men barely catching what he was saying, "He said he'd give me another chance, Raven said he'd let me redeem myself, he said I have to make an announcement. An announcement for him tonight. An announcement…" he repeated this phrase over and over again until A.J. interrupted.

"You can do it during our match tonight." The rage was quiet, hiding behind the callous words, despite the attempt to be helpful. Like a silent shout, or a the eye of a storm, it appeared A.J. and Rhino were on the same level of disgust and hatred, trying desperately to keep themselves calm for the show and perhaps for Cassidy's sake. The words were enough to make Cassidy give him a feint smile, slowly standing again. A.J. ignored it, following suit after Rhino to Zbysko's office in the same angry stupor, leaving Cassidy and Jeff Hardy alone.

The pitiful eyes of Cassidy looked desperate then, his pleading words rising soft and low albeit shaky, to Jeff's ears, " Please Jeff… please tell me you don't still want him? Not after what he did to me."

"Well," Jeff responded slowly, scratching the back of his head while maintaining the sorry expression on his features, " you did sorta deserve it for not helpin' him when you shoulda."

"You didn't help him either!" Cassidy retorted, his expression becoming fearful and defensive, his hands shooting forward to clasp Jeff's shirt tightly as his pleading eyes requested harshly for attention.

Jeff's response was soft, ignoring the knuckles digging into his chest as the fabric of his shirt was clutched, "Only because A.J. said it wasn't the time." The words came heavy, swimming in regret that the other man could no longer recognize in his delirious state of mind.

"So then… you do still want him?" He asked Jeff quietly.

"Yes."

"You're obviously mental," Cassidy responded after a long silence, his fingertips slipping from the other mans shirt, dropping to his side in defeat, "If A.J. couldn't keep him I don't know what sort of chance you think you'll have. But if you can promise me something… if you can promise me that you will stop him from harming me in the future… I'll…" he thought slowly about his next words," I'll help you get him."

Jeff's eyes lit up momentarily, "You will?"

"Only if you promise me."

"I promise you," Jeff stated, smiling a little and receiving one in return. "I promise I will save you from Raven's wrath in the future."

Cassidy nodded, Jeff wandering off in a chipper mood down the hallway, possibly thinking of things to come in the future. Meanwhile, Cassidy's own eyes had fallen back to the path taken by A.J. and Rhino, curious and now worried about what they could possibly have to talk to Zbysko about.


End file.
